Irwin Allen certainly had a good disaster movie formula by 1978: hire some over-the-hill movie stars, place some ordinary characters in mortal danger, find gruesome ways to kill off some of the characters, throw in fire and explosions, kill the villain, try to fit a love story in there somewhere, solve the problem in a spectacular way, and there you have it-box office success! Well, "The Swarm" didn't quite work out that way.
Bradford Crane (Michael Caine) and Helena Anderson (Katherine Ross) are a scientist and a military doctor who are trying to fight off swarms of Africanized "killer" bees in a California town. The bees are pretty angry and sting lots of kids to death, later menacing the entire town. There are the usual autocratic and inflexible military generals (played by Richard Widmark and Cameron Mitchell), and the usual old expert scientist Dr. Krim (played by an ancient-looking Henry Fonda). There's even a preposterous romantic subplot about two senior citizens Clarence and Maureen, played by none other than Olivia de Havilland and Fred MacMurray (in his last film). Also present in the cast (and possibly embarrassed to be there) are Patty Duke, Jose Ferrer, Bradford Dillman, Slim Pickens, and Lee Grant. At the end, Crane destroys the swarm, says a few pithy lines, hugs Dr. Anderson, and the film ends.
Allen was primed for another success by this time, having produced the wildly successful "The Poseidon Adventure" (1972) and "The Towering Inferno" (1974). Things just didn't gel for this movie due to an awkward plot and crummy special effects. I even thought the cinematography and makeup were substandard, with many of the actors' faces way too shiny for a high-budget movie like this. The whole thing is dreadfully predictable, and it's just not very good.
Allen's next attempt at a disaster movie was "Beyond the Poseidon Adventure" (1979), which failed miserably. Allen then tried yet again with "When Time Ran Out..." in 1980, but that film was even worse and lost big money, bringing the disaster movie cycle to a merciful end. You could watch "The Swarm" for its big-name cast, but I doubt you'll like the movie much.
Bradford Crane (Michael Caine) and Helena Anderson (Katherine Ross) are a scientist and a military doctor who are trying to fight off swarms of Africanized "killer" bees in a California town. The bees are pretty angry and sting lots of kids to death, later menacing the entire town. There are the usual autocratic and inflexible military generals (played by Richard Widmark and Cameron Mitchell), and the usual old expert scientist Dr. Krim (played by an ancient-looking Henry Fonda). There's even a preposterous romantic subplot about two senior citizens Clarence and Maureen, played by none other than Olivia de Havilland and Fred MacMurray (in his last film). Also present in the cast (and possibly embarrassed to be there) are Patty Duke, Jose Ferrer, Bradford Dillman, Slim Pickens, and Lee Grant. At the end, Crane destroys the swarm, says a few pithy lines, hugs Dr. Anderson, and the film ends.
Allen was primed for another success by this time, having produced the wildly successful "The Poseidon Adventure" (1972) and "The Towering Inferno" (1974). Things just didn't gel for this movie due to an awkward plot and crummy special effects. I even thought the cinematography and makeup were substandard, with many of the actors' faces way too shiny for a high-budget movie like this. The whole thing is dreadfully predictable, and it's just not very good.
Allen's next attempt at a disaster movie was "Beyond the Poseidon Adventure" (1979), which failed miserably. Allen then tried yet again with "When Time Ran Out..." in 1980, but that film was even worse and lost big money, bringing the disaster movie cycle to a merciful end. You could watch "The Swarm" for its big-name cast, but I doubt you'll like the movie much.